


Broken Trust

by DarkJediQueen



Series: A Universe of Meetings [9]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: 2016 Fic A Week Challenge, Cheating, DJQ's 2016 Fic A Week Challenge, First Time, Infidelity, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-13
Updated: 2016-01-13
Packaged: 2018-05-13 12:52:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5708827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkJediQueen/pseuds/DarkJediQueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Trust once broken is hard to get back, even if you aren't the one who broke it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Broken Trust

**Author's Note:**

> **Beta** : [Reidemption](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Charlie_Remington/pseuds/Reidemption)

Aaron knocked on the door to Morgan's apartment. Morgan had been out for a week with a broken collarbone but he'd asked Aaron to drop off a few files that he needed to look at for a court appearance the next day. The Bureau doctor had only allowed that since the Judge wouldn't allow his testimony from discovery to be used. He heard movement on the other side of the door and prepared for a surly Morgan to open the door. 

Instead it was a man his height, hair pulled back in a ponytail, glasses on his face. He was wearing a pair of shorts that Aaron had seen on Morgan before while sharing rooms on cases and a t-shirt from Cal-Tech. He looked to be around thirty years old. There was something about him that drew Aaron in though. He was beautiful, there was no denying that. His high cheek bones set off his look and if Aaron wasn't in work mode, he'd maybe try and flirt with him. 

"Agent Hotchner, Derek isn't here right now." The man's eyes were wide in shock. He looked past Aaron and then off to the side of the wall in the apartment. He was nervous. Aaron wondered who the man was and how Derek knew him. "You are more than welcome to wait for him. He ran to wire money to his sister."

"You have me at a disadvantage." Aaron didn't like that and he wanted to know about the man. 

"Oh!" The man smiled and shook his head. "Spencer Reid. I’m Derek’s neighbor."

Aaron held out his hand but Spencer just eyed it. 

"I don't shake hands with strangers. Sorry."

Aaron waved him off and handed over the stack of files. “Can you make sure he gets these?”

“Oh. The files for the Gutzman case. He said you might be dropping them off while he was gone. That’s why he had me stay here.” Spencer turned and moved to set the files down on the coffee table in the middle of the living room. He moved back towards the door and grabbed a set of keys. Aaron stepped back when the younger man made to step out of the apartment. He pulled the door shut and locked it before moving towards the door across the hall. “I’m sure Derek will see the files when he gets back. Thank you, Agent Hotchner.”

“Aaron. It’s Aaron, Mr. Reid.”

“Spencer. You can call me Spencer. Derek talks about his team a lot. I need to get dressed for work so excuse me. Have a wonderful day.” Then Spencer was gone inside what Aaron assumed was his own apartment. He stood there thinking for several long minutes. He knew the shorts were Morgan’s but why was Spencer wearing them? Morgan had never talked about men before, but given his past it was no wonder. Was he afraid that the team would judge him for liking men despite his past? 

Finally, deciding he’d stood there long enough, Aaron turned to leave. He sat in his car for about twenty minutes going through a few emails on his phone. He was in no rush to head home. When he was finally ready to leave, he looked up to see Spencer leaving the apartment complex. He was dressed in a three piece suit and Aaron admitted again that he was a very beautiful man. 

 

XxXxXxX

Aaron kept an eye on Morgan after that, trying to figure out if he and Spencer were more than just friends. He tried to tell himself it was only because he was worried about Morgan but he knew that it was more than that. He’d found the man beautiful and while he’d never talked much about his own sexuality with the team, he was fairly certain that Dave knew that he was bisexual. Between the death of his father and meeting Haley, Aaron had fooled around with a few guys, trying to send off a great big fuck you to his father and have him rolling around in his grave. 

If Morgan was dating the other man, no one on the team knew it and he was doing a damned good job at hiding it. He still talked about going out with the “honeys” as he called the women he casually had sex with, but it was a perfect cover. 

It happened one night nearly two months later on the jet home from a hard case that had lasted longer than needed due to a police force that didn’t want them there, but the case had become federal as soon as the UnSub had dropped a body across state lines. The team was asleep while Aaron just relaxed back in his seat with his head tipped back. With eyes barely open he watched as Morgan looked at his phone. There was an unreadable emotion on his face.

“Hey, Pretty Boy! No, we are still in Georgia. I’m sorry I forgot to call.” Morgan frowned at whatever the person on the other end of the line said. When he spoke next his voice was a great deal lower but Aaron could still hear him. “Spencer, I’m sorry. I know. I know you had them stay over…I can’t help the job. We won’t be back until early morning. No, I’ll be going to mine. I’ve missed you too but I am tired. I need to go.” Morgan hung up quickly and looked around the jet. Aaron relaxed his body. Morgan seemed satisfied with what he saw and relaxed back, putting his headphones on. That sounded like every conversation that Aaron and Haley had near the end of their relationship. 

When the jet landed an hour and a half later. Garcia was waiting at the air strip. 

“Are we ready to go party?” Garcia asked, looking at Prentiss, JJ, and Morgan. 

Jessica already had Jack down for the night. He wondered if they would extend the invitation to him and Dave like they always did.

“Hotch, Rossi?” Prentiss asked as she turned to look at them.

“I’m going home to my bed and cuddle with my dog. You young ones have fun tonight.” Dave walked towards his car parked in the same spot as always.

“Sure. Text me the address and I’ll meet you there after dropping off the files. Remember three day weekend.” 

“Why do you think we are starting the weekend early?” Garcia asked. 

Aaron laughed as the three women piled into Morgan’s SUV with him getting in the front seat. 

When he arrived at the club, he was shocked that it just seemed like a slightly upgraded bar. It wasn’t the normal places that the team liked to go. When Haley used to go with them, the team always chose a bar. He knew that the girls liked to go to bars but Morgan liked clubs. This was probably a middle ground given that Aaron was going as well. 

Drinks flowed but Aaron kept himself far too sober than he probably should have been given that Morgan was dancing with so many women. He still only suspected that Morgan and Spencer were dating but it irked him. Aaron’s eyes stayed on dance floor, watching everyone have a good time. 

“So are you sure that he hasn’t tried a relationship?” Prentiss asked.

“No,” Garcia answered. She took a sip of her drink. “He’s just been put off by the clubs. He still talks about…is he?”

Aaron found Morgan again and saw that a woman was leading him into the back of the bar towards the bathrooms. He was sure that his eyes were bugged out of his head.

“Yes, he is,” JJ said with a giggle. The other two girls started to giggle as well. Aaron was pretty sure that he was going back there for sex. He had no clue if his and Spencer’s relationship was open but he needed to speak to Morgan. Aaron watched as another women moved back towards the bathrooms. Two minutes later, she came back out. Morgan was on her heels, trying to grab her phone. The girls stopped laughing but didn’t move. Aaron got up to his feet and moved over to the pair. 

“Austin! Please!” Morgan had just finished buttoning his pants, leaving little to the imagination of what had gone on in the bathroom. The woman he’d gone back with was walking out of the bathroom. 

“Don’t think so, Derek,” the woman, Austin, said. Morgan grabbed her arm and spun her back towards him, grabbing her phone. He had just bypassed the lock screen when Aaron grabbed the phone from him. 

“Unhand her, Morgan.”

“Hotch, you don’t…”

“I don’t understand that you were back there getting a blow job from a strange woman when you have your neighbor back home? I heard you lie to them on the phone saying you were still back in Georgia.” Aaron tried to keep gender pronouns out to save his dignity a little, even if he didn’t deserve it. 

“Morgan?” Garcia asked. Aaron turned to see the girls standing there. All three looked a lot more sober than they had been just moments before. Garcia looked confused while JJ and Prentiss looked pissed. 

“That’s not even the brunt of it. Today is their three year anniversary,” Austin said. She slid her phone in her pocket after Aaron handed it over. “He came to me three months ago, told me he thought you were cheating but I told him no way. He’d never do that. Not Big Mr. FBI profiler Derek Morgan. I told him that he was just getting jealous of the job. Then I see you taking that woman back there. Find her on her knees with your dick in her mouth. So what was it, finally decided that you couldn’t do a relationship or just didn’t want to settle down with a man?”

“Austin, please.”

“No. Fuck. I am not lying to him. This is going to tear him apart.” Austin turned around and Morgan reached out for her again. Prentiss stepped in and grabbed his wrist. Spinning him and locking his hands behind his back. 

“No. You don’t touch her.” Prentiss looked even more pissed now. “Hotch, can you take JJ and Garcia home?”

“We’ll get a cab,” JJ said as she wrapped an arm around Garcia’s shoulders and led her away. Prentiss shoved at Morgan and they started out as well. 

“Prentiss, take him around the beltway or something.” Hotch watched for Prentiss’s nod before he turned to Austin. “Do you need a ride? I know that you don’t…”

“You are Hotch. From what Derek has said about you, I can trust you and I am in no condition to drive between my anger and the drinks I’ve had. You know the way to Spencer’s?”

“Yes.” Aaron led her out to his car after he’d given the bartender a bit of cash to cover the disturbance and the drinks. Austin’s hand rested over her phone the entire trip. Aaron figured she’d either filmed part of it or gotten pictures. 

“He’s never said anything about Spencer has he?” Austin asked a few minutes into the ride. 

“No. I only had a guess at it after seeing Spencer in Morgan’s shorts. Then tonight the phone call. I wasn’t aware of the length.”

Silence filled the cab of the car for the rest of the trip. Aaron parked in the visitor parking. Austin wasn’t getting out of the cab so he moved over and opened the door. 

“He can’t stand lying. He really can’t. I just…fuck.” Austin leaned back so quick and so hard that her head bounced off the seat. 

“Austin?” Spencer’s voice carried over the parking garage. She jumped out of the car and Aaron turned around as well. “Agent Hotch…Aaron. What’s going on? What happened to Derek?”

Aaron opened his mouth but the scared look fell off Spencer’s face. He looked between the two of them and then settled on Aaron. 

“Agent Hotchner, I thought your team wasn’t coming back until tomorrow?” The chill attached with the words had even Aaron shivering. The switch to agent was telling of his mindset. 

“We flew in two hours ago.”

“And why is Austin with you?”

“Papa!” Two voices called out. Aaron saw two girls with black hair running at Spencer. They stopped just at his back, one on either side of him. “Aunt Austin!” The girls ran at her and Austin leaned down to hug them. The woman handed over her phone to Aaron and then led the girls off. Aaron stepped up and handed the phone over to Spencer. 

Spencer took the phone, frowning but unlocking it and frowning at whatever was on the screen. He touched the screen and Aaron heard the music from the bar start up. Thankfully the music was so loud that no noises could be heard over it. Aaron watched his face as he watched the video. 

“I see. Thank you, Agent Hotchner for bringing Austin over. I…” Spencer handed Austin’s phone back over and then dug into his pocket for his own. He dialed a number and Aaron wasn’t sure he wanted to be there for the conversation. “Mr. Haverda? Yes. It’s Spencer in 7. I won’t be renewing my lease. No, some things didn’t work out how I thought. I’ll be out a month before the end so you can do any replacements that are needed. Thank you.”

“Anything I can do?”

“Where is Derek?”

“Prentiss is driving him around the belt, I think. They knew that whoever his boyfriend is that he is Morgan’s neighbor. I figure she’s waiting on word from me.” 

Spencer nodded. “I’ll be staying with Austin. The girls go back to school Monday. I had them pulled for the day Friday in…well it doesn’t matter anymore. My car is in the shop so we’ll have to takes cabs.”

“I’ll drive you wherever. I think my backseat is big enough for three. I can throw the car seat in the trunk and there is nothing else in there except my go bag so a bag or two of yours should fit. If you are wanting to avoid Morgan, I can call you when he gets to work Monday so you can pick up more things…”

“You are nicer to a stranger than you should be.”

“My wife was cheating on me at the end of our marriage. Because of my job. Also, it’s either that or you may find yourself inundated with Prentiss, Garcia, and JJ trying to kill Morgan while cuddling you. I have a feeling that Garcia is probably hacking all kinds of things right now of Morgan’s.”

Spencer smiled and Aaron wanted to see it more. 

“I need to pack up my things. I just got back from a week away so I have a bag packed; all I’ve got to do is wash up the dirty things. I just need contacts and the girls’ weekend things.”

“I’m more than willing to help you.”

The younger man nodded and Aaron followed him up to the apartment. Spencer slowed while walking when they neared the door of his place. His eyes were locked on Morgan’s. 

“Would you mind keeping a watch on what I do while I clean my things out of his place? I know he has a few files in there and I’d rather not be accused of something.”

“Sure.”

Aaron did that as well as helping him pack up things for the girls. There were pictures scattered all over Spencer’s apartment. Him and the girls. Him and who Aaron assumed was his mother, mother, son, and granddaughters. There were even a few of Spencer, Morgan, and the girls. Aaron wondered not for the first time what Morgan had been thinking. They weren’t living together and from the looks of things, it was still a fairly non-constrictive relationship. Spencer had given Aaron the key to Morgan’s place after he grabbed his sleep clothes from a drawer and a stack of books from the bedside. Two movies had been taken from the stack on top of the DVDs and given that the titles were children’s movies, Aaron figured that he wasn’t stealing. In fact, given what he knew of Morgan’s taste in movies, there were quite a few that were probably Spencer’s that he left on the racks. 

Austin came up with the girls half an hour later. She hugged Spencer and he kissed her cheek. 

“Aaron, this is Guinevere and Izabelle. Gwen, Iz, this is Aaron. He’s going to drive us and Aunt Austin to her place where we are going to stay this weekend.”

“Did Derek’s case take longer than he thought?” Gwen asked as she looked at her father. Iz’s eyes though didn’t leave Aaron. 

“No,” Iz said before Spencer could answer. She looked Aaron up and down and moved over towards him. Her hands went right for his pants leg and lifted it up. His empty holster for his backup was visible.

“Izabelle!” Spencer pulled her back, Aaron’s pants leg dropping.

“Stern face, black hair, back up gun. This is Hotch.” Iz just smiled at him as she talked. She was very intelligent. Aaron could see it in her eyes. He guessed that she and her sister were around eight years old. 

“What happened, Papa?” Gwen asked. 

Spencer crouched to look his daughter in the face. “Derek and I are no longer together. We are going to stay with Austin for the weekend and then when you girls go back to school I’ll see about finding a new place for us to live.”

“Oh,” the girls said at the same time. Iz looked away from Aaron finally and looked at her father. She kissed his cheek and moved to her and her sister’s bedroom. She came out with the bags that had been packed. There was a green teddy bear in her hand and Aaron watched as Spencer’s face looked gutted at the sight of it. Gwen ran off and came back with a matching purple one. 

“Are we ready?” Austin asked. Spencer only nodded for an answer. Iz handed off the purple backpack to her sister and then moved to the front door. Aaron grabbed Spencer’s bag before the man could. Austin wrapped her arm around him and guided him out of the door just behind the girls. 

“Hotch!” Austin called out and then tossed a set of keys at him. Aaron caught them and found that there were only two on there. He fumbled a little but got the main lock and the deadbolt locked before he turned. Sitting at the base of Morgan’s door were the two teddy bears. He figured out then that the girls were a great deal smarter than he’d thought. Children saw more than others, he knew that, but it was surprising that they weren’t trying to fight it. They accepted that Morgan and their father were done. And seemed to lay some of the blame at Morgan’s feet. 

Aaron drove the small group across town to a duplex. Spencer thanked him for the ride and then they were gone. As soon as the front door was shut, Aaron texted Prentiss and said that it was clear for Morgan to go home. Prentiss texted back and thanked him. She asked how the boyfriend was and Aaron answered truthfully that he was devastated but strong. Nothing else came.

XxXxXxX

When the call from Garcia came early Sunday morning, Aaron rolled out of bed and started to get dressed. He needed to drop off Jack at Jessica’s and then get to Quantico. He didn’t even realize that he hadn’t gotten Spencer’s number off of him until he saw Morgan on the jet. The debrief on the case was done as soon as the jet was in the air and they could take off their seat belts. The team functioned as normal right up until Dave figured out that every time Garcia had something, she called Aaron and not Morgan, as was normal. 

Aaron normally would have never aired someone’s personal business, but as the rest of the team was well aware and Garcia was doing her level best to pretend that Derek Morgan didn’t exist, he pulled Dave aside and told him. 

Phone vibrating, Aaron pushed Dave out of the door and closed it. It was a text from an unknown Virginia based number. He frowned. 

_Case?_

Aaron frowned even farther. He was pulling up his screen keypad when another text came through.

 _Sorry. This is Spencer Reid. I forgot that I never did give you my number. Austin has the girls at the Jeffersonian so now would be a wonderful time to start moving things into storage. If the BAU is on a case._ The words sounded very much like something he’d expect from Spencer but it still didn’t tell him how he knew Aaron’s number. Still he texted back that they were. He got some sort of smiley face and then nothing. 

The case went well, and when they returned to the office there was a registered letter waiting for Morgan on his desk. Morgan's eyes flashed with hurt and he slipped it into his leather briefcase. Aaron was standing waiting. He hadn't brought up Morgan's personal life while on the case but now the case was over. Aaron pulled his office door shut and leaned against the door. 

"Thank you for taking Austin over there Thursday night. I...Did he and the girls make it there fine?"

"I drove them. Spencer's car was in the shop."

"Yeah. A brake line was leaking and he takes his car safety very serious with the girls. Did he..." Morgan's eyes tracked over to the small box that was in the corner. Aaron saw the purple bear sticking out of it.

"No, Izabelle was the first to pick up her bear. I didn't think anything of it, just that they wanted something to cuddle. He told them that you and he were not together anymore and that's it. They left the bears at your door on their own. Very perceptive girls."

"Just like their father. Their mother was never in the picture. She left them with him when they were under a year old and signed away all rights."

"What's in the letter?"

"Probably a notification that I was taken off as his medical power of attorney and other things. He'd done it before we got together actually. The girls were two the first time I met them. Gwen distracted Spencer while Iz snuck out and then she snuck out as well. I found them two floors down trying to make it outside. I'd seen them around, knew who they belonged to. Spencer was shocked when I knocked on his door with a girl on each arm. They both took to me well. It was a year later that he asked me to be a second in the line of making choices for the girls. Austin moved to the area two years ago. He'd met her a few years before that but he had no one else in the area he trusted." Morgan sighed and closed his eyes, leaning his head back onto the chair. "I think I need a little bit of time off. Go home to Chicago and think."

"It might be best. I had to tell Dave. He couldn't figure out what was wrong and Garcia acting like you don't exist was just too much."

"I understand. I didn't..."

"Don't. There isn't a thing that you can say to me that will change what happened. I don't need the reasons or excuses. Get your life in order." Aaron pushed off the door and then he swept from the room. He settled in his own office and picked up his phone. There was nothing. 

When he had confirmation hours later from Garcia that Morgan was on a plane to Chicago; Aaron texted Spencer but heard nothing back. 

XxXxXxX

Sighing, Aaron leaned back in his chair. The newest batch of applicants was worse than the last batch and the one before. The last replacement for Morgan hadn't lasted more than two cases before requesting a transfer. Morgan had left the unit eight months before after a near month off. It hadn't come easy. In the end, he'd transferred to the Chicago branch to be with his family. 

"Aaron," Strauss said as she entered his office with his name as the only noise to alert him to her being there. "I have an applicant from White Collar Crimes who would like to submit a case workup as his interview."

"What?" Aaron stood up and took the file she was handing over. She took a seat once he'd taken the file from her. It was an entire case workup. It was based one of the three cases that he and Dave had worked up for applicants for Morgan's position. It was perfect. He looked at the case part as it was presented. There was a handwritten geographic profile. The case was worked to take place in Albany, New York. What caught him was that the profile was wrong. He looked at it more in depth and found that one of the locations in the list had been crossed out and rewritten by hand. There was a note that the address given in the file didn't lead to a bakery but a flower shop, but since the bakery was a big point in the file, he went with it instead of the flower shop. In the overall scheme of things it wasn't much but looking at the geographic profile it narrowed things down by nearly a mile over all. He hadn’t seen a file like this from a new profiler outside of JJ. 

 

“I have his partial resume here. He was worried about your rejection of him based on prior meetings. Or favoritism.” Strauss handed over a sheet of paper and Aaron read over it. Three PhDs all achieved before the age of twenty, one along with two BAs in that time. Two more BAs and another PhD in the ten years since; became sole parent to two daughters in the middle of the academy. His work with White Collar was perfect. Recommendation from his current unit and section chief. He knew no one from White Collar Crimes. Looking up at Strauss, Aaron saw someone at the edge of the bullpen, looking at his office. It was Spencer. Aaron smiled despite himself. Then the resume clicked in his head. 

Morgan had never mentioned that Spencer was another FBI agent, but given the resume in his hand along with the way the man was hovering. It had to be him.

“You can tell Doctor Reid that as of right now, he's in his trial run for the space on my team.”

“Good. You don't know the way the sharks are acting right now. Doctor Reid has never shown that he's interested in leaving White Collar but when your latest agent put in the transfer, his paperwork was on my desk. The AD wanted him to be the last to put in his application. The AD it seems knew something that I didn't. Doctor Reid was set to come into the BAU from the moment he joined up as a cadet but when...”

“When Gwen and Izabelle were dropped in his lap, he chose them and took a job in White Collar because it would have him home. You can send him up.”

“How do you know Doctor Reid?”

Aaron looked at Strauss, just staring. She stared back, nonplussed. “He's the reason that Agent Morgan is no longer on this team.”

“Doctor Reid is the man that Morgan cheated on?” Strauss looked shocked. It hadn't taken long for the rumors to start up about why Morgan had been on the outs with his team and instead of having the rumors getting outrageous, Morgan had confessed to what he had done without naming who the other person had been. “He's a brave soul. It might be best to keep that under wraps for a while. Garcia might smother him otherwise.”

Aaron allowed a smile on his face as he escorted Strauss from his office. He locked eyes with Spencer. “We have a case in Las Vegas, Doctor Reid. Better pack a go bag.”

Spencer nodded, smiled and took off. JJ and Prentiss looked up at him while Dave ambled out of his office.

“New recruit?”

“No. Been in White Collar Crimes. I think that he's that cadet that Gideon wanted added to the unit so long ago. The one that turned him down due to his family.”

“The genius? What changed?”

“I don't know.”

XxXxXxX

The case was hard. Seven women and five men raped and killed by a duo. Spencer never wanted to leave the conference room they had taken over in the Vegas FBI field office. He slept on the couch for a few hours at a time unless Aaron forced him back to the hotel. He seemed nervous and Aaron couldn’t figure out why. 

On the fifth day, when the second body after they had arrived showed up, a woman entered the conference room and locked eyes with Spencer. “Agent Hotchner, I thought that Agent Morgan was on your team. Not Doctor Reid.”

“Agent Morgan transferred to the Chicago office.”

The woman looked at Spencer again and Aaron braced himself. Spencer had turned back to the profile board they were working on. Prentiss had noticed the tension and closed up the file she was reading. JJ stood up to move over to where Spencer was and Dave had actually put his hand on his gun. 

“What, did you break his heart, Doctor Reid so you could finally join the BAU?” The woman asked. 

“Actually, Agent Prescott,” Spencer started and turned to look at the female agent standing there. “He broke my heart when he was caught in the bathroom of a bar, stone sober, pants at his ankles with a women sucking his cock. So I suggest you turn around and go back to your division which is White Collar Crimes and not here in the room the BAU is using.”

A man was rushing behind the woman and jerked the door open. “Agent Prescott, I told you that the restraining order was still in effect and you needed to stay in your area. Agent Hotchner, I am sorry. Agent Prescott just got back from two weeks leave and wasn't aware until she got in this morning that the BAU was here. Now, Prescott.”

Prescott glared at Spencer and then spun and left. The man followed after her but before she made it into the elevator the head of the field office was walking towards the conference room. The team was dead silent; mulling over the new information when the head opened the door.

“Doing okay, Spencer?” 

“Just fine Samuels. I almost have the code the dominant is leaving behind cracked .” Samuels stepped fully into the room and pulled the door shut. 

“Word got to me that you've been pulling second PhD level cram sessions. Why don't you take a break?” Samuels looked at Aaron and smiled. “He was working on his second PhD when I was finishing up at Cal-Tech. Scrawny little thing he was. Couldn't run for shit. Agent Hotchner, I am truly sorry about Prescott. Don't worry she won't come back here. She was transferred from DC to here because she kept trying to fuck with Spencer. She's an excellent agent just has a hate on for Spencer.”

“Have a good day, Samuels.” Spencer didn't look up from the board. 

“See I thought you might say that. I have a surprise for you.”

“No.” Spencer turned and his eyes moved past Samuels. Aaron looked as well and coming off the elevator were the twins and a woman that Aaron remembered from the pictures. Spencer dropped the notepad in his hands and was up and out the door. He dropped to his knees and the girls ran right at him. Iz looked up after hugging her father for a minute and her eyes widened. She disentangled from him and ran right at Aaron, nearly hitting Samuels with the door.

“Aaron!”

“Hello Miss Izabelle.” Aaron was shocked when she hugged his leg and didn't let go; even when Spencer entered with Gwen in his arms and the woman trailing behind him. “Izabelle, I'd like you to...”

Izabelle looked around and she smiled. “The rest of the BAU team. Miss JJ, Miss Emily, and Mr. Dave. We remember them from..” Izabelle trailed off and looked at her father and then shook her head and smiled. “Hello. My name is Izabelle Reid; this is my sister Guinevere and my grandma.”

“Thank you, Samuels.” Spencer smiled at him.

“You are welcome, brainy.” Samuels reached out and ruffled Spencer's hair before he left the room. 

“Hotch?” Prentiss asked. 

“This was something that Reid and I were going to broach when we got back. I didn't want to color the first case with the knowledge.”

“I was Derek's boyfriend,” Spencer said as he set Gwen down on the ground. The girl stayed there at her father's side while Iz stayed right at Aaron's. “I had Strauss do a blind audition of sorts for me on the team. Hotch knew nothing of my name and such before I met him. Of course this case popped up and well...here we are. These are my daughters. Iz has already introduced them. Austin, the lady from that night, she brought them out here for a week to spend with their grandmother. They head back home tomorrow. Samuels always keeps track when Austin or even I bring the girls out. We kept in contact after college. One of the few I do keep in contact with.”

“Spencer, are you going to do proper introductions?” The woman asked with a fond smile. She stepped up behind Gwen and rested a hand on her shoulder.

“Of course. This is my mother, Diana Reid. Mom,Agents Emily Prentiss, JJ Jareau, and David Rossi.” 

There was a look of apprehension on Spencer's face as he did the introductions. Diana looked each of them up and down as he did the introductions. Then Spencer turned to Aaron. 

“And this is my new Unit Chief, Aaron Hotchner.”

“The young man who drove you and the girls to Austin's the night that boy broke your heart. Thank you, Agent Hotchner. I do hope that someone scratched that boy's eyes out.”

“Mom.” Spencer started to blush as he directed his mother to a chair. Gwen followed and sat down in her lap while Iz stayed right with Aaron. She hadn't let go of his leg yet and by the way that Spencer's eyes kept dropping down to look at her, he was a little worried about it. The doors opened again and Austin entered with a smile on her face. Iz waved at her and tucked her hand right back around Aaron's leg. 

“Don’t worry, Ma’am. The other member of our team, Penelope Garcia damn near castrated him,” Prentiss said as she moved around the table. 

“Can I trust you all with my son? You used to work with that boy.”

“We barely know Spencer but he’s now a member of this team and none of us like liars,” JJ said as she moved closer to Diana and shook her hand. Diana smiled up at her. 

“Sorry, Spencer. It’s kind of hard to say no when a black SUV pulls up and Samuels gets out.”

“There may have been a promise of candy as well,” Iz said. She squeezed just a little tighter on Aaron’s leg as Spencer moved over towards them, like she was afraid of being pulled away. 

“You two and your sweet tooth. So have you eaten lunch because we haven’t.”

“Can we have Thai?” Gwen asked, speaking for the first time. 

“Sounds good to me,” Diana said. 

“Regular for everyone?” Aaron asked. The team knew what each one wanted from almost any place they went. “Reid, can you order for your family?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” Aaron looked down at Izabelle and smiled. “I’m going to need my leg back to go get lunch. Are you hungry?”

Izabelle nodded and sighed as she finally let go of his leg. Instead of going over to where her grandmother or aunt were, she went to the table and sat down. She reached into her father’s messenger bag and pulled out a book on physics and opened it to a very specific page and started to read. 

“I’ll go as well,” Prentiss said and moved towards them. 

“Iz, Gwen, this is just like when I have files at home.”

“Don’t open them!” Both girls parroted and smiled. 

Spencer laughed and turned to open the door ushering out Aaron and Prentiss. As soon as they were on the elevator, Prentis pinned Spencer with a smile.

“And what exactly is your IQ?”

“187.”

“I’ve watched you reading files…”

“I can read twenty thousand words per minute and I have an eidetic memory. It’s why I did so well in White Collar Crimes. My unit chief was reluctant to let me go but knew that I’d wanted into the BAU since I joined. The girls are at a boarding school, their choice. They did pre-k for two months and said they were not going back there. I found a really good boarding school for them. They don’t care if the girls board full time or part time. I can pick them up on a Tuesday and as long as they are back Wednesday for first class, there are no eyebrows raised. I get them every weekend and the school is safe. I haven’t tested their IQ but the school keeps them entertained in class.”

“I wondered how you knew my number. You saw it on Morgan’s phone one time didn’t you?”

“Yes. Sorry. I didn’t even think that…Sorry.”

“So is Hotch Izabelle’s first crush?” 

The elevator doors opened and Spencer laughed. 

“Yes. She said she fell in love with him that first night. I didn’t think much of it until now.” Spencer looked at Aaron from the corner of his eye and Aaron saw that he was blushing. Aaron settled a hand on his shoulder and when Spencer didn’t duck away from it, Aaron knew that Izabelle wasn’t the only Reid with a crush on him.

When the three of them got back with food, Izabelle and Gwen were sitting on the table with the remaining members of the team sitting in chairs in front of them. Dave had a deck of cards in his hand and JJ a deck as well. They were both flashing up cards and each girls was spouting off what the cards were. 

“That’s two decks each,” Austin said with a smile as the food was passed around as the last few cards were described.

“You taught them how to count cards?” Prentiss asked, looking shocked at Spencer.

“Mom lives here, Prentiss. What are the odds that I grew up here?” Spencer smiled.

“You grew up in Vegas?” JJ asked.

“Yes. Lived here until I moved to Virginia. Other than the years at Cal-Tech.” Spencer used a fork while his two girls used a set of chopsticks each. “After we eat, you guys need to leave. Hotch is being kind letting this distraction in.”

“Yes, Papa!” The girls said at the same time. Austin laughed while Diana just smiled. Aaron watched her and the way that she acted and ate. She was heavily medicated and seemed to have been in some kind of an institution. The discussion while they ate was all about the girls and how they liked school. That devolved into a discussion of math and physics. The girls were smart and there was no hiding it. Spencer wasn’t able to hide his intelligence either but given that he was an adult, he slid under the radar. 

As they were saying their goodbyes, Aaron watched as Izabelle didn’t want to leave. She wasn’t throwing a fit but he could tell that Spencer was getting a little fed up with her. Finally though, Austin got her out the door. Spencer turned right to the board and started to work on the code again but this time instead of guessing he wrote out a very cryptic set of words. 

XxXxXxX

The sound of Jack's laughter drew Aaron over to the gazebo where he saw his son's head. He didn't want to ruin whatever run he was having until he saw a mess of hair sitting under a tree on the other side of the gazebo. He looked around for the twins as he walked towards Spencer. A squeal of laughter drew his gaze to his son. Jack was sitting in between the twins with a book in his lap. They were all reading from it.

"Hotch."

"Reid," Aaron said as he looked over at Spencer. The young man was standing up. "Do you live near here?"

"We live a block over." Spencer pointed in the direction that Aaron lived as well. "What are you doing here?”

Aaron pointed at Jack. The look of utter shock on Spencer’s face was priceless.

“That’s your Jack? Derek mentioned him but never showed pictures. His aunt brings him to the park a great deal. He loves soccer.”

“Yes, he does. Do the girl’s play sports?” 

“Aaron!” Izabelle screamed.

Aaron braced himself for the young girl running into him. He looked down to see her running at near full speed at him. Jack and Gwen were standing up and his son had a frown on his face. Aaron crouched and picked up the gangly eight-year-old. She willingly ran into his arms and he slung his free arm around Spencer and led him to where the other two kids were. There was a bench all around the inside of the gazebo. Dropping down onto it, he settled Iz at his side but she wouldn’t have it, she crawled into his lap.

“Jack, I’d like you to meet Spencer. He’s the new member of my team.”

“Hi,” Jack said waving. 

“Spencer, this is my son, Jack.”

Spencer held his hand out and Jack leaned over and shook it with a smile on his face. 

XxXxXxX

It took Aaron three months to figure out that day in the park was the end of his life as he knew it. He’d left that night, long after he should have gone home with Jack, knowing what had drawn Morgan to the man. He still hadn’t figured out what had pushed Morgan away from Spencer either. He knew that night while laughing as the girls tried to describe Star Wars to Jack that he was falling in love with Spencer and that his two girls already held his heart. 

Every single weekend that Spencer and Aaron were in town, the girls wanted to go to Aaron’s or Jack wanted to go to Spencer’s. After that first day in the park, it hadn’t taken long to figure out that if alley and yards were used, it would take the kids five minutes to get from apartment to house and vice versa. If the kids used the street it took almost double. Jessica had been introduced to the twins when a case came up late on a Saturday night when Jack was staying with Spencer. Aaron had met her at Spencer’s house and the doctor had easily given over a set of keys, the codes for the alarm, his and Austin’s cell. The kids were already in bed but Spencer woke the twins to introduce them to Jessica. The girls had been less than impressed with the disruption of their sleep. 

When they got back four days later from the case, Jessica and the kids were still at Spencer's house. The kids had made the decision that the house was more fun and they didn't need to leave. Aaron wasn't that shocked. Jack was asleep on the couch in the upstairs office while Jessica was in the downstairs guest room. Aaron set his go bag down on the couch in the living room and sat down.

"What are you doing?"

"I was thinking of going to sleep in my suit." Aaron was tired and wasn't sure if he had the energy to get out of his suit. 

"Hotch, I have a perfectly good bed upstairs. That couch is lovely to sit on but for people our height is sucks. I know because I've fallen asleep on it too many nights."

"You only have one guest room and I know that Jessica is in it."

"We are both dead tired after the flight back. We shared a bed on that case in Nebraska a month ago and I know that my bed is bigger than that. You are too tired to drive anywhere else and so am I. Just come with me and lets both get a good night's sleep."

Aaron was wary but sleeping in a non hotel bed sounded wonderful. He nodded, grabbed his bag and followed Spencer into the one room of the house that he'd never allowed himself to go into. The room was beautifully done and he could tell that Spencer had taken care in decorating it. The genius let him have the bathroom first and Aaron changed into the sleep clothes he'd used the night before. He left his bathroom kit on the counter and tried to ignore the condoms and lube that he found in the bathroom cabinet when looking for a rag to wash his face with. 

Spencer was already changed into sleep clothes by the time that Aaron was done in the bathroom, but he went in and brushed his teeth. Aaron kept the same sleep arrangements that they had in Nebraska. Aaron marveled at the size of the bed. It was at least a king size bed. 

"I have a nightlight in the corner that's going to come on when the lights go out. Will that bother you?"

"No." Aaron found that little bothered him when it came to sleep. Spencer slipped under the covers and Aaron listened to his breathing. He realized the moment that the genius slipped into sleep and only then did he allow himself to finally succumb to his exhaustion. 

The sound of giggling woke Aaron up. He cracked his eyes open to see nothing but darkness in front of him. There was some kind of light at the edge of his vision and he turned to look to see that the darkness was hair. He pulled his head back and found that it was a head as well. The giggling got louder and the head in front of him shifted.

"Gwen, Iz, out," Spencer said with a voice that was rough with sleep and that was when Aaron figured out that he was wrapped around Spencer in Spencer's bed with at least the girl's looking at them. He also realized that he was hard and his cock was pressed into the crack of the younger man's ass. The giggling got louder and Aaron heard Jack laughing as well. He groaned and tipped his head back to try and bury it back in his hair. "They've seen you already. No sense hiding."

"I know," Aaron whispered. Spencer shifted and rubbed all along his cock. Aaron tightened the arm he had wrapped around Spencer's stomach and it pulled him back even closer. There was no way that he'd missed the cock pressed into his ass and he wasn't trying to get away. He took a chance a lifted his hand up just enough to edge it under the shirt the other man was wearing. He brushed his fingers along skin and he felt and heard the intake of breath. 

"Let's go get some breakfast," Iz said and then the sound of the door shutting echoed through the room. Aaron didn't want to breath and disrupt what they had here. He knew though that they needed to talk. 

"You know that it's what they have spent the last month trying to get to happen right?" Spencer asked. 

"Really?"

"Well, I think that Gwen's plans had kissing in it before we slept in the same bed."

"How detailed are these plans?"

"She snuck lube and condoms in the shopping a week and a half ago. I didn't realize it until I got home."

Aaron didn't know quite what to say to that. He had only ever thought about sex with another man in an abstract way. He'd never acted on impulses he had when younger because he was in love with Haley. His acceptance of his own bisexuality came after college. He'd raised Jack to be more accepting than his own parents had been. Jack knew that love came in all shapes and sizes. 

"The ones in the cabinet. Can't have missed them when getting a rag to wash your face. She got my preferred brand of lube which means she or Iz has been in bedroom. The condoms are one of the better brand for anal sex, which means I don't want look at their search history."

"You don't have a block on that?"

"Unless it's a Garcia level block, they can bypass. I check from time to time and they can't delete history, Garcia made sure of that. I have two geniuses Aaron. I treat them like mom did me. If they ask, I tell. Which in pre-k meant that when Johnny dropped his pants in class that started a discussion on why boys have penises and girls vaginas. They know not to talk about things like that around others though."

"I'm dreading Jack's talk and we are the same sex."

"Thankfully, the girls and I have already covered that. Gwen's never brought it up again, and Iz wanted a book on anatomy."

Aaon tried not to groan. He wondered if he could talk Spencer into giving Jack the talk. "I envy your scientific mind."

"You say that now. So, are we going to talk about this?" Spencer pulled Aaron's hand from inside his shirt but he didn't let go of it. Instead he placed a kiss on the back of it. "I promised myself after Derek that I wouldn't let anyone in who didn't have a child because I didn't want the girls hurt like that again. I know it's not every guy or girl's fault that he cheated on me. But a person with a kid has just as much at stake. You are good with the girls, I can tell you adore them."

"I do. You adore Jack. He adores you and the girls. He's asked me if I’m going to start dating again, I told him I’m unsure. He said he's okay with me dating again. Knowing what I know now, I'd say it's okay as long as I date a certain father." The bed was warm and it was nice to be in it with another person. He closed his eyes and just listened to the sound of their combined breathing. It was really nice. 

"We should probably get up and see what the damage to the kitchen is."

"No." Aaron tightened his hold on Spencer and snuggled down into the bed more. Spencer laughed but didn't try and get out of his hold. Even through their talking, Aaron's erection had held, pressed into Spencer's body. He felt no need to take care of it though. He knew that there was no way that Spencer wasn't feeling it. He wondered briefly if Spencer was hard from their contact. It felt so good though to just hold someone that he didn't want to change what they were doing. "Don't you trust them?"

"With cereal yes. Pancakes no. Iz gets flour everywhere and Gwen gets egg all over the counter."

"Easy to clean up." Aaron marveled at how easy this was. How happy this made him. Home wasn't a place for him. It was being with Spencer and the kids. In such a short time the younger man had come to mean so much to him and he didn't want to let him go. They'd figure out how to balance this and work and the kids and everything else all together. As far as the kids were concerned, they were past the point of no return. They wouldn't be able to split them even if they wanted to. Even if they fizzled, Aaron would make sure they stayed friends. He wasn't going to break Spencer’s trust like Morgan had. 

He was downright shocked that Spencer was even willing to try anything with anyone so close to the end of that relationship. Yet Aaron wanted him and he rarely did anything that he wanted without going over the reason why he shouldn't ad nauseum. He didn't care this time. 

Placing a kiss on the back of Spencer's neck he closed his eyes and just relished the feel of the man in his arms. Spencer hummed and pulled the blankets up farther. 

"I guess we can stay here a little longer. It can't be any worse than waking up to an exploding volcano because they couldn't wait for me to wake up."

"See, it can always be worse."

Aaron barely dodged the hand that flung backwards at him but he caught it and then wrapped their linked arms back around Spencer's chest. This was happiness.  
**The End**


End file.
